On the morning of July 31, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, was officially reported missing after he failed to return home the previous night. Though he is popularly believed to have been the victim of a Mafia hit, conclusive evidence was never found and Hoffa’s fate remains a mystery to this day.
On this day in 1965, U.S. President Johnson (center) signed into law Social Security Act that established Medicare and Medicaid. It went into effect the following year. Former President Harry S. Truman is seated on the right.
The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on this day in 1945. The ship had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. Only 316 out of 1,196 men aboard survived the attack.
An artists illustration of the attack on The USS Indianapolis.